The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-09-25
A GOVERNMENT TELEGRAPH
How the System Worksin Great Britain,
as Told by the Assistant z. Nj. General.
Mr.. Perry S. Heath's Interview With J. C.
Lambe, Mr.. Parker's Observation-Disclosures
of the Advantages of the Postal System.

oCSSiOns
crest to Americans just this moment than
the telegraph system of the British government,
. connection with its mail SERVICE inasmuch
The service to be given in the United States is to
Be patterned after that in this country.
Twice has the senate of the United States
passed bills within the last three or four years
providing that the government shall buy the ex
sting or construct new telegraph lines, and
operate az a uniformly low tariff for the masses:
md the proposition has gone far to receive
The favorable consideration of 1.-The committee
having it IN charge in the House of Representa-
lives. Mr.. Edmunds, who is championing the
subject in the Senate, said to me only few
weeks ago that he believed the present Congress
would take favorable action and that the aglta-
hon of the subject would commence very soon
after Congress convened in December next
For the purpose of being able to tell all about
postal telegraphy here and to apply it as far as
possible to the United States, | have spent
couple of days in the Postofice Department of
Great Britain, talking with the principal officers.
visiting the general operating rooms, interview
ing the practical men and conversing with the
patrons.
The English government bought the telegraph
lines in the United Kingdom in February. 1870.
has had a complete monopoly of the service ever
since, and the officials and the people are more
than tisfied with it.
Among the officers of the general government
with whom 1 have talked this subject was
Mr.. j. @. Lambe whose rank equals that of Sec
ond Assistant Postmaster-eeneral in America,
who has diplomatic supervision of the transmits
sion of mails and kilograms, who is an excep-
tionally intelligent official, and I will let him
tell of the service as he told it to me:
.'Tf the government of the United States I'M
dertakes to furnish telegraph service-and I
think it sbould-it ought TO have the monopoly
of it, and give the people the benefit of the
monopoly; otherwise the rival companies will
let the government do the work where it does
not pay. without opposition, and by cutting
rates in the densely populated sections secure
all of the patronage there and therefore the
cream Of the service With free field to all
sorts of rivalry and private corporations a gov
eminent would not be able to make the service
self sus tainiDg, and the sooner the government
takes hold Of the service in the United States
the better it will be, not only for the govern
ment but the whole people of the country.
1.-THE stock OF the telegraph companies in
America has been watered enormously, and it
will be watered to a greater extent the off,
GERS OF the corporations see that the government
Is moving in the direction of purchasing their
plants. The Western Union Telegraph Com
pany which understand is the great telegraph
monopoly in the United States, has watered it's
stock to about three times it's original naeni-
tude. II Congress. at its approaching session.
should come so near the passage of a bill
templatiug the purchase of existing lines as to
fail by only slight margin, it will cost the
country millions of dollars account of the
watering process which will follow
Were is not that England purchased her
lines of telegraph by means of money raised on
loans bonds, the postal telegraph system
would be self-sustaining and quite large profit
would be turned into the treasury every year at
the present rates. Six years ago we came with
In f900 annually of paying out the entire
pense OF operating our postal telegraph system,
including the interest on bonded indebted
ness, and we pay percent. and a fraction of in
terest Our service was largely increased
about that time and we should have placed it
upon a paying basis, had not there followed a
large increase of pay to employees, and Of the
number Of officers For a while under the in
crease of expense the debture increased, and
the success OF the service q self-supporting
proposition did not look very well; but last year
it came up to within e200,0 900 of the total cost"
Here interrupted Mr.. Lam be to observe that
In the Treasury Of the United States there are
at prese mt sums of money aggregating question
able amounts. but surely oveTreaching $780,,
900. and that they yielded nothing to the
country.
with so much money" said Mr.. Lambe.
there can be no question whatever to the
propriety of the American government taking
charge of the telegraph system. We have only
one drawback with Us, and that is our indebted
ness; we owe every dollar of the original plant
With no interest to pay, the government of
America should be able to furnish the people
with a telegraph service at rates less than
do, and have e clear profit at the end of every
fiscal year. / will tell you something about the
rates of tariff charged for kilograms under our
system, and you compare them with the
charges IN your country, and see If we do not
already undercut your private companies a
very great deal The charge for the transmits
sion of telegram from and to any point in the
United Kingdom, including the channel islands.
etc., is six pence for the first twelve words,
and half penny for each subsequent word. In
your money IL would be twelve cents for the
frat twelve words and cent for each subse-
signature to q telegram and believe thati the
only departure we have taken from your sys-
tom in adopting the telegraph a of
Ordinary postage stamps are
placed the kilograms for payment of tele-
graph service, and they are cancelled at the post
office where filed the same as if they mailed
1t the rates nave named.
1.-THE newsp papers probably get m UGH bene-
&c any other class by the government stele-
graph system. The rates for nswspapers-apd
mean by newspapers all publications registered
as newspapers at the postoffce and entitled to
reduced postage-and also clubs. news assoca-
tions. pay shilling (25 cents for each 100 words
dispatched after p. NJ, for the first address.
and pence "a cents for each 100 words TO every
additional address receiving the same report.
For day messages the rate is the same. except.
Ing that the basis is seventy-h words for |
6nlillng. You see at TINS rate Wnere a message |
Is addressed to more than one newspaper the |
Cost Is but cents for each 100 words o. fraction
thereof after the initial 100 is paid. The cheap
est rate given In America is about 10 cents for |
l6O words, where the distance is short and the
number OF words sent is great The average
press rate in America is. l believe, something |
like cent word. twice the amount we
charge If the the telegram is sent o one paper.
1.-THE immense advantage in postal teeera-
ply in America would be, l should think to the
people at places where there is no competition
in telegraphy. When the government owns and
controls the telegraph system a man living in a
small place with only one telegraph line gets
Just as good a rate on his messages as prornpt
service and as many accomm odatons as the one
residing in a large city where there are ever so
many rival telegraph lines. Then there is abso-
ute security to those who send messages over |
government lines. The secrecy is perfect No
,ne was ever known to make public the con-
tents of a message All operators and clerks
ire sworn. IL is msdemeaner in all the
United Kingdom except in Scotland. and is pun
she by fine imprisonmenk to open tele-